IN TRANSIT; Continental Experiments With Self-Boarding

By ARTHUR BOVINO

Published: August 8, 2010

First they took away the complimentary travel kits. Then the meals. The inexorable transition of the experience of flying into something more akin to public transportation may be taking a major step forward. Continental Airlines has begun testing out self-boarding at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, it said recently, becoming the first airline in the United States to do so. Passengers who have checked in can swipe their boarding passes at gates reminiscent of turnstiles and then proceed to their departing flight.

''One gate has been tested, and so far we've been pleased with what we've learned with the experience,'' said Christen David, spokeswoman for Continental Airlines, who said that the airline had been experimenting with self-boarding since June. ''When we speed up the boarding process, it facilitates flights departing the gate on time,'' she said.While Houston's airport may be the nation's laboratory for self-boarding, the process is hardly new. As reported by USA Today, last year there were 14 airlines using self-boarding gates. Gate infrastructure includes two self-boarding lanes with turnstile-like entry points along with a third lane with assisted check-in.

Gate agents won't be disappearing, though. There will still be a lane for boarding in the traditional manner, and agents will be located throughout the area to assist customers. ''The self-service boarding gate allows our agents to focus on giving individual attention to customers who need extra assistance - such as those requesting seat assignment changes or needing to check their status on the standby list,'' Ms. David said.

The airline would not comment on whether self-boarding removes a last level of security, a human deterrent, before boarding.

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.